If you sense that employers are reluctant to employ women who are returning to the workforce after years of being a stay-at-home mother, you're not alone with your concerns. Persuading a prospective employer to hire you, despite your being out of the workforce for years, sounds far easier than it is. However, the key is to help interviewers focus on your talent and skills instead of how long it's been since you left the workforce to care for your children.

Ownership

Typical interview questions include "Why did you leave you last job?" If you're returning to work after time off to care for your children, take ownership of the reason you resigned from your previous job. Don't leave the interviewer to wonder whether your decision to be a stay-at-home parent was a consolation for being unable to find work. Give the interviewer an honest answer, such as, "I resigned from my previous job to become a stay-at-home mother until my children reached school age. I'm glad I could spend that time with my children; however, I'm now ready to re-enter the workforce." Employers will appreciate your honesty.

Currency

Employers often are less concerned about why you left the workforce and more concerned about whether you can do the job. They want to know that your knowledge and expertise didn't atrophy during your absence from the workforce. Describe how you maintain your skills and expertise. Examples you can use include reading trade journals and attending professional networking events, donating time to charitable organizations that needed volunteers with your qualifications, and conducting research or writing articles about your trade or profession. Assure the interviewer that your skills and knowledge are current.

Reliability

Employers shouldn't inquire about your child care arrangements. Doing so might raise questions about whether the company engages in unfair employment practices by screening candidates based on non-job-related factors. However, if you broach the topic, it could show that you've given thought to the employer's concerns about reliability in light of your family obligations. Address this by indicating your availability for long hours, overtime and travel, if indeed you can be available for work that requires commitment and high demands on your time. If you foresee juggling your time between working and meeting your family obligations, don't mislead the interviewer by suggesting you won't have any worries about a job that requires a great deal of your time.

Flexibility

On the other hand, if you're looking for a job with flexible hours or the type of work that will permit you to telecommute when necessary, ask the interviewer what kind of flexibility is available. Before you ask about flexible work arrangements, it's important that the interviewer knows that you have firm arrangements for child care and that your interest in telecommuting is not a substitution for child care during your work hours.

Past Performance

"Just because you left the workplace to give birth does no mean the bar gets raised for re-entry," is what organizational psychologist and human resources expert David Jones told Fox Business contributor Barbara Mannino in her July 16, 2012, article "Tips for Moms Returning to Work." Emphasize your past performance as evidence of your skills, provide concrete examples of your work and demonstrate your enthusiasm about returning to the workforce to continue the quality of work you performed before leaving the workforce.

About the Author

Ruth Mayhew began writing in 1985. Her work appears in "The Multi-Generational Workforce in the Health Care Industry" and "Human Resources Managers Appraisal Schemes." Mayhew earned senior professional human resources certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and holds a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

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